Adapting A Novel And Other Lessons Learned From London Screenwriter’s Festival

A few weeks ago, I attended the London Screenwriter's Festival which was a cornucopia of fascinating information and networking packed into a couple of intense days.

Authors can learn a lot from screenwriters, especially in an age where there's some amazing television. After getting rid of the physical TV six years ago, we've been downloading and devouring shows like House of Cards, Game of Thrones and True Detective, and I am always a sucker for action movies!

Let's face it – more people watch TV and films than read books.

More people devour stories through the visual medium.

So I decided to go and find out a little more about possibly adapting my own books into screenplays, and what the screenwriting world was about. As usual, I am not content to sit back and wait! Here are some of my notes from the days I attended.

“Storytellers need to be passionate, creative people and rise above the resigned and cynical world we live in.”

Chris Jones opened the festival with a rousing speech to get out there and create the stories that ignite passion within you. He talked about how others may think we're crazy and tell us to get a real job, but at events like this, we are amongst peers. We know each other.

Choose the people you spend time with wisely and they will buoy you up in this creative career.

I feel this a lot in the author community, and avoid any toxic situations/ forums/ people as much as possible. Life is short – it's important to make good choices about who we spend it with.

Screenwriter and novelist Lynda La Plante gave a great talk about her journey. She's a fantastic example of an author-entrepreneur, moving from acting into writing and then into running her own company in order to have more creative control over her work.

She talked about ‘going back to Source,' when researching her work, not in a metaphysical sense, but actually visiting criminals, prisons, police stations and morgues to learn the reality from the people who live it.

“The roots of a good story are in reality.” Lynda La Plante

She suggested always including comedic elements in dark books to break the tension, and that the gore level of the current crime scene will swing back soon as it has gone too far and people are more interested in the hunt than the violence.

William Nicholson, screenwriter for Shadowlands, Mandela and Gladiator, as well as many more screenplays and also novels, talked about his journey in one fantastic session. He talked, as did others, about the disappointment of the screenplays that get sold but never made. Many of the speakers commented on how some of their best work would never see the light of day as it wouldn't get made but the rights had been sold.

The focus of the session was on heightening emotion, the heart of all great drama. William writes by choosing the emotion he wants the audience to feel, connecting to that within himself and then structuring around that.

He also mentioned that researching too much was a bad thing, as we're not writing reality, we're writing stories that communicate values.

William mentioned that he only started screenwriting after several very serious novels, and his writing loosened up when he stopped taking himself and his writing so seriously.

[This advice is something I have also learned from Dean Wesley Smith in his brilliant Productivity workshop.]

William suggested choosing something that other people care about as a theme, and not focusing on yourself as the writer. You're not as interesting as a resonant theme or topic.

There was also a great session with Joel Schumacher where the film of The Lost Boys was played on the big screen, and he talked about the various shots as the film progressed. We were also able to download the script and read along.

That process was a real revelation to me, and it was fascinating to hear from the Director himself how the story was structured to appeal to the audience. He said, “we had no idea it would be this big,” and Nicholson said the same of Gladiator.

It seems to be a theme, you just don't know when things will blow up, so just keep creating the stories you love.

“Dialogue is not real conversation. It's the illusion of conversation.” Claudia Myers

In one session on dialogue, Claudia Myers went through the four key elements. It must:

Advance the plot

Reveal character

Give exposition

Set the tone

One of the reasons I wanted to attend the festival was to focus on dialogue as it is something that novelists need to work on constantly. The first solution to revealing character is always action/ behavior, but then it's dialogue. Not speaking is sometimes just as powerful as speaking.

Good dialogue should also work sub-textually – people often don't say what they really think. There are forces that make us say things we don't mean, and we need to communicate that through sub-text. A good example of this comes from the pitching sessions. When an agent says “I'll get back to you,” without providing their contact details, it's likely that they actually mean, “No thanks, it's not for me.”

“Write a bad scene and then fix it.” Claudia Myers

The ‘rules' for screenwriting are very similar to novels, and a lot of dialogue can be fixed in a second pass.

Pilar Allesandra did a session on the craft, and used some great examples from scripts to demonstrate how important word choice is for genre. She also suggested picking a small ‘tell' that reveals what a character is really thinking i.e. subtext.

For example, two people bump into each other, one says “I'm sorry,” but rolls their eyes. You show their annoyance through the physical response, that's the subtext to the dialogue.

She also had a tip for revealing character without constraining the casting options. Compare the two:

Vanessa, a beguiling vamp

Vanessa (25) tall, blonde, wearing a cocktail dress

The first option describes the character but leaves the casting open to actresses of all kinds.

“Eventually the book becomes this forgotten thing – a sacred text that nobody looks at any more.” Ted Tally

He talked about choosing books to adapt, how he reads a lot and is always hoping to discover something unusual, but usually gets pitched and sent things from agents. He wants to find compelling characters more than anything else, since plot and dialogue can be fixed, but the character is critical from the start.

He'll read a book several times and work on a treatment, and then a first draft. Subsequent drafts are done from the treatment, rather than the book.

Most execs and people involved in the film won't have read the book, which is why so many films get further and further from the original text. They just don't know the material and don't necessarily want to. The original author and the screenwriter are not usually around on set – although they are in some cases, and Ted was for Silence of the Lambs, as was Thomas Harris, the author.

The adaptation is the screenwriter's take on the book, their enhancement of the original work.

It's not just the book turned into the movie.

The choices that the screenwriter makes can change the film into something different. For example, the choice of Clarice as the main focal character meant a lot of the book's other POV characters were minimized, changing the depth of their characters in the movie. The adaptation screenwriter slashes the book apart and their freedom is that first draft, when they re-imagine.[That part does actually sound pretty fun to me, as I love editing!]

Very occasionally, there is a brilliant book that doesn't need much work in adaptation. Ted said of All the Pretty Horses, “it didn't need a screenwriter, it just needed a typist.”

As an author, I felt a real respect for the screenwriters who adapt novels, and I'd be keen to work with someone to adapt my books, as I have done with translators and audiobook narrators.

Collaboration is a powerful way to move a story onwards.

Once again, the writers talked about their disappointment. Ted Tally said “some of the best scripts I've ever written haven't been produced and maybe never will be.” That melancholic statement seemed to be part of the general acceptance of a screenwriter's lot, and the aspiring screenwriters suggested this was just part of the journey. You work hard until the magical moment of seeing your name on the credits of a TV show or film. That's what you're working for, along with the pleasure of writing and the paychecks that (occasionally) come.

My personal conclusions

It was great to attend the event because it solidified a few things for me:

I love the control of being indie and I love the speed of getting my creative work into the world. I love reaching readers with my stories and being paid 90 days later for that work. I don't want to wait years for someone to pick my book (or my script) and I don't want to give up creative control and be ignored once the work is accepted. So basically, I don't want to write a screenplay and I won't be adapting my books into scripts myself. [At least right now! Never say never!]

I would LOVE to have my books (properties) optioned for film/ TV and I would be a gem of an author to work with when it comes to adaptation (honest!) I'm enjoying the collaborative process of translation and I think adaptation would be similar. It's respecting someone else's creativity and their interpretation of your work.

I had some great aha moments over the weekend and it helped me to formulate my own strategy for the film/TV market. I highly recommend the festival if you're at all interested in screenwriting, or even if you want to learn some tips from another type of writer. You can find more here: London Screen Writers Festival.

I'd love to hear from you on any screenwriting tips, or whether your works have been optioned. This is a fascinating topic, so please join the conversation below.

Comments

Thanks for these insights, Joanna. After my current project, I’d like to adapt another author’s book (an early 20th century English novelist is all I’ll say ) to a screenplay. It’s something I’ve thought about for years and decided just to do it, if only to go through that reimagining process myself. I’ll worry about obtaining rights after I’ve written it; the writing is the important part.

I’ve also tried to keep the big screen in mind while working on my current project, a 19th century historical novel set in California. What I mean by that is thinking through how best to establish sense of place and, development of the characters, and, to some extent, the structure of the novel. Some scenes are more cinematic than others while others more fully examine the characters inner thoughts. If someone chooses to adapt the novel, they’ll have several convenient options (I hope) for selecting the type of story they wish to tell while remaining true to the original story. My attempt to maintain some authorial control ;).

Fascinating stuff, Joanna. I knew a screenwriter a few years ago and was amazed by the process, the constant back and forth between him and the studio. In the couple of years I was in touch with him, he worked harder than almost anyone I knew, but nothing he wrote was ever produced. To me, that seems soul-destroying, but I guess a few writers make the breakthrough to make it worthwhile.

Thinking of your approach, Joanna, I think I could more readily see you as an indie film maker, rather than handing over control of the story. “And the BAFTA goes to…”

Interesting stuff, Joanna. I’ve found that the most helpful books on story have invariably been written by screenwriters.

Also, don’t forget radio as a platform for adaptation. The pay isn’t movie level, but the chance of getting something produced is significantly greater, and as the writer you end up with much more of what you’ve written on the air – and more in control of that. If a film production company ever bring in another writer to work on your lovingly-crafted, carefully-honed script, I understand that unless he/she changes 50% or more of it, they aren’t credited as a writer – so guess what they do… 😉

Daphne Du Maurier was a mastermind at getting her novels and short stories made into blockbuster movies. Rebecca, The Birds and Don’t Look Now were adapted from her original stories. I grew up in Cornwall, now living in California, so Daphne Du Maurier is a big inspiration . However, there’s a dark side to selling movie rights.

Sadly, the movie rights to Daphne Du Maurier’s historical novel, The King’s General, were sold over 50 years ago and the movie was not produced. I have never seen The King’s General adapted for TV or the movies. I have a hunch that the rights are probably languishing in some dark cellar of some Hollywood studio somewhere and no one is allowed to adapt this brilliant historical novel. Pity.

Keep up the brilliant work, Joanna. I will be forwarding this to all my writer friends.

Being a devoted cinephile, I think adaptations is a way to go for indies. Why not? I have my own tip. It’s useful to read plenty of scripts of good films if you want to write screenplays, or read plays if you want to write plays. It also helps to grasp certain story structure techniques.
A lot of the Hollywood film scripts are legally available online for free.
I have always wanted to gain an insider knowledge of cinema, so I’ve done some extra work in Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina film three years ago. Watch out, I’m in the final cut 🙂 I’d also adapted one of my short stories for stage, it ran at a West London theatre in 2010. There are plenty of media for storytellers, so yeah, let’s explore them.

Wow! You really know how to make the most out of an event and filter it through your own goals, wants and dreams. When you say you’d be very easy to work with in adaptation, I hope you meant you’d sell the concept, skip to the bank with the check, not look back at what has been done to your work, then carry on with your novels 🙂 That is what usually happens. If a screenwriter can capture the theme and the voice of the book successfully, then everything else is fair game. The writer may get “based on” credit in film, or Executive Producer status on a TV series, but there’s not much collaboration going on, at least not in the major studios.

And I hope that all of us are catching on that as novelists, we’re better off studying TV than films, especially if we’re writing series. TV structure is very complex but invaluable for the contemporary novelist. It’s much more than camera angles and POV, it’s about contemporary readers alternating between reading snippets whenever they can and making sure they return to your book, not whatever shiny cover catches their eye on their Kindle carousel, and binge reading when they get the chance. That’s what TV is all about these days. I’m a spec screenwriter, but I spent all of 2013 studying TV with coaches who used to work in major studios. Gee, they were all women who had lost their studio jobs. Isn’t that peculiar. One month into the journey, I realized there was no way I wanted to work in that industry. I stayed the course because it was clear that the demands of TV are exactly the demands of the contemporary novelist. If you’d like, I can pass along the names of some coaches and teachers (other than Julie) who are affordable, generous, and extremely nurturing. I also have a ton of book recommendations as well.

But that world is changing as rapidly as indie publishing. Sites such as Stage32.com are popping up like spring flowers with a strong collaborative spirit. Thanks to technology, it’s now possible to make a film or TV series with an iPhone, iPad and new software introduced at this year’s AdobeMAX. Some production companies “distribute” exclusively through YouTube and are gathering a loyal audience and recognition from larger production companies. We’re at the beginning of this revolution, and there are no rules or limits, just vast horizons where anything is possible and every failure is a valuable learning experience.

Congratulations on figuring out for yourself the mantra all screenwriters live by, first spoken by William Goldman, one of my all-time heroes: “Nobody knows nothing in this business.” Despite Goldman forever changing screenwriting and winning an Academy Award, he always returned to novels as his safe haven. Now we’re beginning to say: “Nobody knows nothing, so let’s go out and create what we want on our own terms!”

Hi Cyd, Thanks for letting us know about the changes in the screenwriting world – and it’s great that with YouTube and other online video, people can just get on and do this stuff. “Indie” already has that cool connotation in film and TV IMHO – hopefully it will reach books soon!
Yes, I guess I meant that I would be good to work with – because now I understand that adaptation means exactly that – the book is just the starting point – so why would an author be concerned about the film/TV representing the original work. That seems to be a common misconception among authors. I’m looking forward to McKee’s STORY workshop next weekend so will be sharing lessons learned about that in the coming weeks as well. Thanks!

Thanks Christine 🙂 I have read Save the Cat & lots of other screenwriting books – I do think tips for writing bestsellers work for both – studio greenlighting for stories has so much emphasis on analysis of what works for emotion etc. Fascinating stuff!

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Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but The Creative Penn is also a business and my livelihood.
So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, when I receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. I only recommend tools, books and services that I either use or people I know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to me.
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